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What is the deadliest animal on earth?
Could it be something that gives lethal injections?
We╒re counting down the top 10 most extreme venoms in the animal kingdom,
and finding out just what happens when these toxins get under our skin.
With all stings considered, you╒ll discover that reality bites when
venoms taken to The Most Extreme.
Earth is a planet of extremes, extreme places╔ and extreme animals.
But some animals are more extreme than others.
Join us as we count down to find the most unusual, the most extraordinary,
The Most Extreme.
Our countdown begins in warm waters around the world, for hiding in the
shallows is the animal that╒s number 10 in our countdown of extreme venom.
It╒s the stingray.
Each year, in America alone, 50 times more people are injured by encounters
with stingrays than with sharks.
That╒s because we don╒t see them buried in the sand, and if you stand
on one, that whip-like tail lashes out and buries a venomous spine into your
leg.
It╒s a nasty surprise for even the biggest hunters in the sea.
For hungry orca, a stingray is a mouthwatering morsel, but the stingray
sting contains not only enzymes that destroy flesh, but also serotonin,
which causes instant, excruciating pain.
It╒s enough to make even these hungry hunters think twice.
So why would anyone want to keep stingrays in a touch tank?
Here at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, even expert,
Mark Loos is cautious.
Most of the time, stingrays are peaceful, even playful animals.
Some have called them the *** cats of the sea, but if they get
frightened, one flick of that muscular tail is enough to drive home their
venomous spine.
And that╒s the difference between poison and venom.
Venom only works if it╒s injected into the victim.
So stingrays are only dangerous if that barb spine pierces your flesh.
That╒s why Mark has a simple way of making stingrays harmless.
What we╒re doing is we╒re going to actually clip the stinger from the
stingray.
This doesn╒t actually hurt the animal because the stinger is actually, it╒s
made of a keratin which is kind of like clipping your fingernails, so it
doesn╒t actually hurt the animal.
The reason we╒re doing it is just to make sure that nobody accidentally
gets stung.
Here at the Aquarium of the Pacific, after we clip the stingers, the
stingers actually can grow back, so they do have the potential to grow
back a stinger with venom.
What we do is we╒ll go through every 3 months and gather up all of the
animals to make sure that they don╒t have their stingers on them.
Anything that has grown back, we╒ll re-clip it.
This venomous barb can sometimes be driven in so deep that it punctures
your heart.
But back in 1978, it was a very different poison puncture wound that
hit the headlines.
The city of London was home to Bulgarian dissident, Georgi Markov.
As an outspoken protester against the communist regime in his homeland, he
probably felt safe in the streets of England, but his personal cold war was
about to heat up, thanks to events that could╒ve come straight from the
pages of a spy novel.
One day, when Markov was waiting at a bus stop, he failed to notice the man
carrying an umbrella behind him.
Suddenly, he felt a stinging pain on the back of his right thigh.
It╒s thought that an agent of the Bulgarian State Security had stabbed
Markov with the most unusual umbrella.
Markov never knew that his mortal illness was actually caused by the
puncture wound.
It was only after the autopsy that doctors discovered that the umbrella
had inserted a tiny poisoned pellet into Markov╒s leg.
The pellet contained ricin, a poison 100 times as deadly as cobra venom
derived from the beans of the castor oil plant.
Stingray venom may not be as lethal as the poisoned pellets of the Cold War,
but you still have to be careful of that sting in their tail.
Treat the animal with respect, and this is one venomous creature that
won╒t bite the hand that feeds it.
When early European explorers travel to faraway lands, they discovered new
worlds with strange animals, but no animal was as bizarre as the creature
that╒s coming in at number nine in our venomous countdown.
This animal lays eggs like a hen and yet it╒s covered with fur like a cat.
It╒s got the tail of a beaver, and the webbed feet of a swan.
Add the bill of a duck and you get the fury collection of animal leftovers
called the platypus.
According to aboriginal legend, the first platypus was born after a young
female duck mated with a lonely and persuasive water rat.
But the resulting creature has one feature that╒s not found in birds or
mammals.
The male platypus has a sharp spur on his hind leg that injects venom from a
gland in his thigh.
This venom can kill a dog and leave a human in agony.
But since the venom is only secreted by mature males especially around the
breeding season, the main target is usually other males looking to fight
for a territory.
But the platypus wasn╒t the only discovery of the early explorers to be
greeted with suspicion.
When European sailors returned home from South America with a strange
plant related to the deadly nightshade family, most people assumed that its
bright red fruit would be poisonous.
In America, it wasn╒t until 1830 that a Colonel Robert Johnson proved them
wrong.
The story goes that when he announced he╒d eat a basket of the deadly fruit,
a crowd of 2,000 watched him commit public suicide.
But as the band played a somber tune, he didn╒t die.
In fact, the fruit was delicious and he became rich selling tomatoes.
Today, the average American gets through more than 10 kilograms of
tomatoes each year.
But while the image of the tomato has changed, the platypus is still one of
the world╒s strangest animals.
However, it could╒ve been made even stranger if that lonely duck of
aboriginal legend had mated with the next contender in the countdown.
We╒ve seen strange spurs and sweeping stings, but when we milk venom for all
it╒s worth, you╒ll be left gasping for breath as we deliver the kiss of
death.
That╒s next on The Most Extreme.
To round up number eight in our countdown of extreme venom, mosey on
down to see Chris Reimann on his ranch in Comfort, Texas, but it pays to be
careful for his little doggies are real monsters.
Chris Reimann runs the Gila Ranch, which is home to about 100 head of
Gila.
He believes that his lizards don╒t deserve their reputation as monsters.
When they╒re encountered, they tend to be a little aggressive.
They open their mouth and display and hiss, and I think it╒s just ignorance
myself.
They╒re a fabulous creature, I think.
I wouldn╒t call them a monster.
The Gila gets its bad reputation because its bite really is worse than
its bark.
This monster is number eight in the countdown because it╒s only one of two
venomous lizards in the world.
It uses a deadly dribble for self-defense.
If you╒re bitten by a Gila, it clamps on like a vice grip as its razor sharp
teeth slice open your flesh and then modified salivary glands produce venom
that dribbles down the teeth and deep into the wound.
The more they chew, the more venomous saliva they deliver with terrifying
results.
Oh, when I was bit, the first few minutes I felt nausea, a little
localized pain from the bite, and slowly I had a lymph node that was
throbbing a little bit.
My hand was throbbing and my lower back started to hurt, and then it went
to my chest, and that╒s when I became worried, so I went to the hospital.
I was vomiting, cold sweats and a real erratic heartbeat.
Thanks to quick medical treatment, Chris survived this venomous encounter
and has no hard feelings.
The Gila╒s venom was evolved for a defensive mechanism for the lizard to
keep it safe from predators and stuff.
Once a predator gets bitten, they don╒t want to get bit again, as do I.
It╒s ironic then that the unforgettable bite of a Gila monster
may one day actually help people remember.
Scientists have analyzed Gila venom and created an experimental drug that
works in the human brain.
It seems there╒s a chemical in Gila spit that acts on those receptor
pathways in the brain that affect memory.
Chemical companies are hoping that their new drug could help reduce the
symptoms of memory loss for the 4 million sufferers of Alzheimer╒s
disease in America alone.
It seems that memories are made up of many things, and one of them could
soon be Gila monster spit.
We╒ve seen misunderstood monsters and mixed up mammals, but the tail of
terror continues because it╒s no walk in the park when number seven could
send you straight to heaven.
That╒s next on The Most Extreme.
The deadly bees have buzzed their way into number seven in the countdown
because for some people, these tiny insects really are the most deadly
animal in the world even though each one only carries less than half a
milligram of venom.
When you╒re stung by a bee, venom is pumped through the barb sting into the
skin where the chemical, melittin gets to work on the nerve endings of pain
receptors causing a brief burst of agony.
But for one person in a thousand, bee venom causes an allergic reaction not
just in the skin, but in other parts of the body including the vital
organs.
If left untreated, the patient can die of anaphylactic shock in less than
five minutes.
No wonder most people dealing with bees on a daily basis wear protective
clothing.
But some bee people in Waldorf, Maryland take their clothes off.
Here, people actually want to be stung for the good of their health.
Okay. Are you ready?
Go for it.
This is bee venom therapy in action.
The theory is that in addition to causing pain, the bee sting also
heals.
Bee venom therapy has changed the life of Pat Wagner.
In 1992, multiple sclerosis had reduced her to what she called a
bedridden breathing corpse.
Now, more than 45,000 stings later, she╒s able to walk again and is
leading a normal life.
Researchers believe that the chemical melittin is a powerful
anti-inflammatory substance thought to be 100 times more potent than
hydrocortisone.
That╒s why apitherapy is said to wake the body up.
Pat is now known as the bee lady, and happily shares her therapy with people
from all over the world.
You know, since I had no movement when I came in, it╒s a lot better.
I have seen so many miracles when I sting people, just absolute miracles.
Apitherapy is phenomenal.
It may sound too good to be true, but the next contender may also save
people╒s lives with the sting in its tail.
In California╒s Palm Desert, there are two ways to find the next contender in
the countdown.
You can poke around under rocks and hope you get lucky.
Or you can wait till nightfall and go hunting with an ultraviolet lamp.
Nobody is sure why the scorpion glows under ultraviolet light, but everybody
knows why it╒s number six in the countdown.
In 1999, more than 13,000 Americans were stung by scorpions.
Few were fatal, thanks to good medical care.
But in Mexico, scorpions are estimated to kill 1,000 people a year.
So how would you like to be locked in a box with nearly 3,500 thousand
scorpions?
Meet Kanchana Ketkeaw from Thailand.
She spent a world record 32 days inside a glass cage with 3,400
venomous scorpions.
She was stung nine times, but said the venom had little effect on her because
she developed immunity during seven years of performing with the lethal
creatures.
But there may be another reason why scorpion attacks are not always fatal.
Recent research suggests that the scorpion can set its venom on stun or
kill.
Instead of wasting venom on self-defense, it uses a pre-venom that
causes extreme pain.
It╒s a clever strategy because the deadly true venom is a complex
cocktail of proteins that╒s expensive to make, but that complex cocktail may
also contain one protein that could be a cure for cancer.
In America alone, more than 24,000 people each year are diagnosed with
gliomas.
This is a form of brain cancer that╒s almost always fatal according to
University of Alabama researcher, Harald Sontheimer.
The average survival is on the order of six to eight months.
In some cases, more rapidly, in some cases, patients survive five years.
But it is a rapidly progressing cancer for which there is currently no effect
of treatment options available.
Sontheimer╒s team has manufactured the part of scorpion venom that seeks out
brain cancer cells and cripples them without harming normal tissues.
It just goes to show that one man╒s poison is another man╒s cure for
cancer.
We╒ve seen there╒s a twist to the scorpion╒s deadly two-step, but coming
up, there╒s something very fishy about the living dead.
Get ready for a serving of venom that╒s not to be sneezed at.
That╒s next on The Most Extreme.
To find the next contender in our venomous countdown, take a trip to an
idyllic tropical island in the Pacific.
Walk next to a coral reef and you could think you╒re in paradise, and
then suddenly, your next step could be your last.
These waters are home to the world╒s most venomous fish, the stonefish.
So when it╒s feeding time at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach,
California, Christine Light keeps well clear of the animal that╒s lurking at
number five in the countdown.
The reason the stonefish is so dangerous is that it looks like a
stone.
Stonefish actually use their venom as a defense mechanism.
They don╒t use it as a feeding mechanism.
They are actually considered ambush predators.
What they╒ll do is they╒ll hide and they will wait for either a fish or
crustacean and then they will just grab them with their mouth.
So what makes this poisonous pet rock so dangerous to humans?
They have anywhere from 12 to 14 dorsal spines, and the spines are
covered in skin, a thick skin layer, and when they╒re just sitting on the
bottom, their dorsal spines will be lying flat against their body, but if
they are provoked, the dorsal spines will come up and the skin actually
will pull away from the dorsal spines, and there are venomous glands at the
bottom of the dorsal spines.
So when it penetrates someone╒s foot or limb, the pressure will cause the
venom to shoot up through the dorsal spine into the person or fish that
they╒re attacking.
Sharing a meal with a fish can be deadly, but then for some people,
that╒s part of the attraction.
At Manhattan╒s Nippon Restaurant, they serve not stonefish, but pufferfish.
Gourmets come to try a dish called Fugu, a delicacy that if not properly
prepared, means instant death because it contains a poison that╒s 275 times
deadlier than cyanide.
It╒s concentrated in the ovaries, intestines, and liver of the fish,
which all have to be carefully removed because the lethal dose would fit on a
pinhead.
The active ingredient is tetrodotoxin, a chemical that attacks the nervous
system paralyzing the muscles of the body.
Sometimes it can cause a coma almost indistinguishable from death, and
that╒s why some researchers believe that tetrodotoxin could also be used
to create the living dead.
On the island nation of Haiti, tetrodotoxin could play a part in the
infamous powers of the voodoo sorcerer.
Here it╒s believed that people can be brought back from the grave as
zombies.
Researchers have suggested this is because sorcerers grind up pufferfish
as part of their magic powder.
So in 1962, when a victim was rushed to the hospital, unable to breathe,
even doctors were fooled and signed the man╒s death certificate.
And yet 20 years later, the same man can visit the cemetery to find his own
grave.
This is Clairvius Narcisse who believes he emerged from this grave as
a zombie slave.
But step on a stonefish and you╒re in for an even bigger surprise.
This ugly monster may pack a powerful punch, but it╒s no match for our next
contender, a tiny terror with a really mean mouth.
Okay. So our next contender couldn╒t really sink a ship, but these tranquil
waters are home to a killer with a bite that packs enough venom to kill
10 people.
It╒s stealthy, shy, and the size of a golf ball.
At number four in the countdown of most extreme venom is the blue-ringed
octopus.
It╒s not hard to see how it got its name, but those infamous blue rings
only really light up as a warning when the animal feels threatened.
Unfortunately, some people are attracted to the pretty colors and
pick up the cute little octopus.
Big mistake.
The bite is so small that many victims don╒t even realize they╒ve been
wounded, let alone injected with a neurotoxin 10,000 times more deadly
than cyanide.
It╒s a venom that╒s really good at paralyzing pesky humans and potential
prey.
The venom is part of the octopus╒ spit and is produced by two glands each as
big as its brain.
It hunts either by spitting out a cloud of the toxic saliva or by
jumping its prey and biting through a *** in the crab╒s armored shell.
But strangely enough, the octopus doesn╒t make its own venom.
Dense colonies of bacteria actually produce the deadly neurotoxins.
They live safely tucked away in the octopus╒ salivary glands, but then
harmful bacteria can live in all kinds of places including our kitchens.
That╒s because some kitchens can be breeding grounds of the bad bugs that
cause food poisoning.
This year, there╒s a one in four chance that you╒ll become sick, thanks
to bacteria like salmonella or listeria.
And food poisoning is likely to kill 9,000 Americans this year.
That╒s why you don╒t want to cook with poor personal hygiene or a dirty
kitchen.
Since food poisoning bacteria are often present on raw foods of all
kinds, the last thing you want is to have the bacteria being transferred
onto the cooked food on your plate.
Bacteria can be bad news especially in your own home.
Experts say that 80% of food poisoning happens at home, largely because
people don╒t wash their hands before cooking or clean kitchen surfaces
after cutting raw food.
In fact, your kitchen cutting board could contain more germs than your
toilet seat.
But the blue-ringed octopus has no problem with food poisoning bacteria.
After all, it poisons its food deliberately, thanks to the toxic
bacteria in its spit.
We╒ve seen a deadly blue ring, a stone that can spring, and a glow bug with a
sting.
But coming up, we╒ll discover a killer who╒s really come out of his shell.
That╒s next on The Most Extreme.
The slowest assassin in the world lives inside this shell.
It may look harmless, but the cone snail can kill as quick as lightning.
The trouble is when it moves at top speed, the only thing it could hope to
catch would be a rock.
That╒s why it╒s had to develop a more subtle hunting technique.
It╒s armed with a hypodermic needle full of venom. It only gets one chance
to instantly paralyze its prey.
The venom has to kill fast.
The cone snail just moves too slowly to get another chance to attack and
swallow its prey, and the venom works just as well on humans.
At least 30 people have been killed by the so-called cigarette snails.
That╒s because when you are stung, you had enough time to smoke a cigarette
before you drop dead.
So what╒s in cone snail venom that makes it so deadly?
University of Utah biologist Baldomero Olivera tried to find out.
What we discovered was something that was far more complex that when they
inject their venoms, they╒re not just injecting a few toxins that can kill
people.
They╒re injecting what turns out to be a very complicated cocktail of
essentially perhaps 50 or 100 different components, and each of
these components is like a drug.
Cone snail venoms potently change the way the nervous system acts.
So components of these venoms are among the most effective painkillers
and drugs against epilepsy, and even against mental illness that we╒ve ever
seen.
Clinical trials have found a cone snail painkiller is perhaps a thousand
times more effective than morphine without the nasty side effects.
Modern day drug companies are real excited about combining drugs and
specifically targeting drugs, but that╒s something that the cone snails
really evolved millions of years ago.
Since there are 500 species and 100 components per species, there are, in
principle about 50,000 different venom components in the living cone snails
and we╒ve only looked at a fraction of those, and so the possibilities are
really much greater once more basic science is done on the different
components of the cone snail venoms.
While the cone snail may one day provide a cure for human pain, this
slow motion assassin will always give fish a real headache.
Sea snake venom is one of the most potent in the world.
A single drop is reputed to be able to kill three men.
That╒s why researchers like Dr. Bryan Fry of the Australian Venom Research
Unit find them so irresistible.
The venom of every snake species has its own chemical formula.
The more you know about the formula, the better the antidote you can make.
The tricky part is getting the venom out of the snake.
No wonder his first-aid kit is a constant companion.
Milking the snake to extract its venom is the first part of the process in
creating antivenom.
The aim is to use small doses of venom to get the immune system to produce
antibodies.
These are molecules that can knock the venom off the victim╒s nerve cells and
hopefully save the day, but you have to get the antivenom to the patient
fast and that╒s where these guys come in.
Miami, Florida, is home to the world╒s only Emergency Antivenom Response
Unit.
Captain Al Cruz and Ernie Jillson are the men of Venom One.
Venom One at Dade County, [0:36:16 ] responded to Homestead Hospital,
reference cobra bite [0:36:19]
Run by the Miami-Dade Fire Department, Venom One provides a lifeline for
snake bite victims.
Established in 1998, they now have the most extensive antivenom collection in
the U.S. covering 95% of the world╒s venomous snakes as Captain Al Cruz
explains.
People begin or want to own venomous snakes.
The key is you need to understand that snake╒s behavior, because it╒s not a
matter of if you╒re going to get bit, it╒s a matter of when.
We have an assortment of antivenoms that we call the lifeline for people,
not only locally here, but also nationally.
Sometimes, you might only need one vial of antivenom yet with king cobra,
you may need 40 vials.
What makes Venom One unique and the reason it works so well is that you
call one number and we respond.
Plus, we handle over 500 bites without a single fatality in the last four
years.
The snake may have a truly venomous reputation, but if Adam and Eve had
met our final contender, they╒d never have gotten out of Eden alive.
We╒ve seen the nine contenders.
They╒re the best of the best.
Only one animal is a more extreme venom making machine.
It╒s number one and it╒s coming up next on The Most Extreme.
I didn╒t know then they could put beauty and poison so cleverly together
in one package.
It╒s no laughing matter when a venomous animal clear some of the best
beaches in Australia.
For seven of the hottest months of every year, an invisible killer makes
the sea a deadly playground.
The only safe place to swim is within the shelter of a fine mesh net.
Venture outside the net and you╒re playing Russian roulette with the
animal with the most extreme venom in the countdown.
Meet the box jellyfish.
There are good reasons why this deadly jelly is number one in the countdown.
According to marine ecologist, Jamie Seymour╔
These animals are the most venomous animals in the world.
There is absolutely no doubt about that at all.
There have been recorded incidences where people have had 6 or 7 feet
worth of tentacle on their body, and it╒s killed them.
Now, if you do the sums, a full grown animal has 15 tentacles on each
corner, a total of 60 tentacles, and each one of those tentacles is
probably 7-8 feet long.
One animal has a potential to kill 60 people and it can do it within
minutes.
When an unsuspecting victim blunders into the almost invisible jellyfish,
the agony is instant.
People say it╒s like being branded with red hot irons, and that╒s just
what the scars look like.
The jellyfish is number one in the countdown because those trailing
tentacles are covered in 4,000 million stinging cells.
At the slightest touch, the cells blast a microscopic harpoon through
your skin to inject its incredibly powerful neurotoxin, but the jellyfish
doesn╒t hunt humans.
It has smaller fish to fry.
Its venom is so extreme because it has to paralyze fish fast before their
struggle snap the tentacles.
Paralyzing neurotoxins may be bad news for fish, but it╒s booming business
for Dr. David Amron at Spalding Cosmetic Surgery and Dermatology in
Beverly Hills.
Hi, Lexanne.
So some lines are trying to bother you in your face?
Yes, very much. Forehead, frown, and then right on the side of my eyes,
I╒ve got a lot of this squinting.
Okay, great. Let╒s take a look.
Can you raise your eyebrows?
Yeah. And frown.
And nice, big smile.
Yeah. Yeah. I do agree, I think Botox would be great for you.
Botox is actually a purified form of the bacterial neurotoxin responsible
for the most deadly food poisoning in the world.
Just like the venom of the jellyfish, Botox paralyzes the muscles that cause
wrinkles by preventing the nerves from firing.
Eventually, the nerve endings regenerate so further injections are
required to keep the wrinkles at bay.
With more than 1.6 million procedures carried out every year, Botox is the
fastest growing cosmetic procedure in America today.
So you have friends who╒ve had this done?
Yeah.
Yeah?
My mother has had it done and the results were great.
Yeah.
That╒s why I decided to do it.
Well, I╒d say, personally, everybody loves Botox. Botox is great.
Back in Australia, no one thinks box jellyfish are great especially macho
male Aussie lifeguards.
Anybody who enters the water here needs something to protect themselves
from the jellyfish╒s deadly tentacles.
It has to be lightweight, yet thick enough to prevent the millions of
stinging cells from penetrating the skin.
The solution is╔ pantyhose.
Only the number animal in the countdown could turn a macho Aussie
male into a cross-dresser.
That╒s why, when it comes to venom, the box jellyfish really is The Most
Extreme.